Four Common Staging Mistakes

4 Common Mistakes in Staging

The Most Common Staging Mistakes I See in People’s Homes –

As a Designer and a Home Stager I see a lot of things in peoples homes. I see homes in all price levels from a couple hundred thousand to a few million. There are a few design and home staging mistakes I see over and over and they are so easy to fix.

Mistake #1: Having all the furniture pushed back to the walls.

Even in a small room this is not always the best option. Usually something can be angled or pulled forward.

In a large room, the room actually looks smaller when all pieces are back against the walls. Plus, the room is not very cozy as the conversation area is too far apart.

My advice is to move the furniture up and create a cozier conversation area. If the room is overly large you will need to split it into two sections.

It is okay to have furniture away from the walls. You can have it floating out into the room as long as it is anchored with an area rug, side tables and/or coffee table.

A tree or a sofa table and lamp can be added behind the furniture to draw the eye back and add height.

Pull chairs away from the walls when they are flanking a fireplace, don’t have them stuck back in the corners and touching the wall. By doing this you will actually draw even more attention to the the fireplace.

Pulling furniture away from the wall is hard for many people to visualize or imagine. It is difficult to see alternatives to furniture placement, especially in your own home. You aren’t alone in this. That is why I am calling this a “common” mistake.

Mistake #2: Not enough lamps

Ceiling lights do not replace the need for lamps. If you are selling your home lamps are needed to bring more light into a room, light up a dark corner and make a room cozier. Lighting from the lamps will also make a room look larger.

If you are not selling your home you need lamps to warm up a room, disperse the lightingthroughout the room and create more ambiance for entertaining.

As a general rule a living room or family room should have three lamps; placed in as close to a triangular position as possible. What a difference this will make!

As a side note, make at least two of the lamps ‘table’ lamps if possible. Floor lamps are great and are necessary in tight spaces but three floor lamps in one room is not the best.

Table lamps on each side of a bed is the best way to make an impact and frame out the bed. Don’t have these lamps be too small. A secondary mistake, let’s call it #2B, is dinky little lamps by the bed. The more massive the bed the taller and beefier your lamps need to be.

Mistake #3: The absence of a coffee table.

A coffee table grounds the room and pulls it together. It provides the central spot of the conversation area. Besides being visually appealing it serves a purpose; it provides your guests a place to rest their beverage or for you to place snacks. It can even provide great storage within the table or hidden inside.

A coffee table works even in a small area. A bench that is only 12″ – 18″ wide makes a great coffee table in a limited space or two cubes placed side by side also is a space saver.

If you have children and are worried about sharp corners, a large leather or upholstered ottomans is the way to go.

In my opinion a living area without a coffee table is an incomplete room. If feels as though something is missing and there is!!

Mistake #4: Artwork Hung too High

I see this all the time. Artwork most typically should be hung at eye level…..eye level for someone at about 5′4”. If you are 6′ tall the center of the artwork will be approximately shoulder level.
Artwork hung too high is kind of “hanging out there”. Pun intended . It isn’t part of the room when it is up in the rafters. You’ll be surprised what a few inches will do. The eyes come down into the room as the artwork becomes part of the room.

There are many instances where artwork may be hung even lower. An example of this would be if you have a chair with an accent table and a table lamp.

Artwork positioned in the nook of between the lamp and chair should be very low creating a vignette with the grouping.

Another example of of artwork hung lower than eye level would be on either side of a bed. You want the artwork to be part of the bedroom setting, not up high all by itself.

If you are uncertain where your artwork should be hung get someone to hold it for you and step back and take a look.

Don’t feel bad if you are making any of these mistakes. That is why they are “common”.